New Zealand’s seafood catch reached a record NZD 4 billion (USD 2.8 billion, EUR 2 billion) in fiscal 2009, Statistics New Zealand reported on Wednesday.
The value of New Zealand’s seafood catch, managed under the quota management system (QMS), has increased 47 percent since 1996, and the number of species managed under the QMS jumped from 26 in 1996 to 96 by 2009. The QMS was introduced in 1986.
The top 20 species, which include hoki, rock lobster, p?ua and blue cod, represented 91 percent of the total catch in terms of value. Hoki was valued at NZD 815 million (USD 565.6 million, EUR 415.4 million), more than any other species and accounting for 20 percent of the total catch.
In 2009, the total allowable catch for all species managed under the QMS increased 0.8 percent from 2008 but remains about 20 percent below the most recent high in 2000.
The statistics are part of the “Fish Monetary Stock Account: 1996–2009” report released by Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday.
